將勤補拙

简 将勤补拙 · 繁 將勤補拙
Mandarin · pinyin jiāng qín bǔ zhuō

Meanings

  1. (idiom) to compensate for lack of ability with hard work
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Characters in this entry

將
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勤
qín · industrious, diligent, attentive
補
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拙
zhuō · stupid, clumsy, crude; convention
将
jiāng · will, going to, future; general
补
bǔ · mend, patch, fix, repair, restore
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–1 · jiang1 qin2 bu3 zhuo1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

將勤補拙 · find source passages ↗ · 将勤补拙 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) to make up for one's lack of natural talent with hard work

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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